Chicago Bears Do Everything Possible To Avoid Playing Nathan Peterman, Even Risking Justin Fields' Health

At 3-9, the Chicago Bears do not have much hope to make the playoffs. That is not deterring them from doing everything in their power not to start Nathan Peterman at quarterback, even if it means pushing the envelope a little bit.

Chicago Bears quarterback Nathan Peterman is being passed over time and time again.(Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Justin Fields, the team's first round pick from 2021, is Chicago's QB1. The Ohio State product, though on a bad team, has showed flashes of greatness throughout his second season in the NFL and brings a lot of hope to the Windy City.

However, Fields is dealing with a shoulder injury that he sustained during a Week 11 loss to Atlanta. He later revealed it to be a "separated shoulder with a partially torn ligament, basically an AC joint."

The injury is pretty serious and it kept Fields off of the field during a Week 12 loss to the Jets. In his absence, the Bears turned to backup Trevor Siemian for the start.

And then they didn't. But then they did again.

While warming up before his first start of the season, Siemian suffered an oblique injury. As a result, the team announced that Peterman would take over as the first-stringer with Siemian moving to the backup role and running back David Montgomery serving as the emergency quarterback.

Not too long thereafter, Chicago flip-flopped again. The team announced that Siemian was going to give it a go and he ended up playing the entire (very ugly) game at quarterback.

With Week 13 on the horizon, Fields' status was unclear for most of this past week.

Would the Chicago Bears start Justin Fields, Trevor Siemian, Nathan Peterman, or someone else?!

Well, Siemian was ruled out. The oblique injury that he played through on Sunday will end his season.

Peterman was set to takeover...

... until he wasn't.

Fields was not listed on Chicago's injury report on Friday. Head coach Matt Eberflus told the media that he is on track to start so long as he doesn't suffer a setback.

"If it keeps going the way it is the last two days, it's a green light," he said. "So that's what we're looking at."

Meanwhile, the Bears signed Tim Boyle off of Detroit's practice squad to serve as the third-string.

Should Fields play this weekend, it would be a rather interesting decision.

As things currently stand, Chicago has a very slim chance at making the playoffs. The Bears aren't out of it yet, though a loss to the Packers on Sunday would put the nail in the coffin and even a win doesn't do much for them.

Bringing Fields back from an AC injury after just 14 days would be a big boost the offense. There's no denying that.

Fields is the future in Chicago. The Bears expect him to be the guy for years to come.

So is it worth rushing him back on Sunday with a bye week waiting in Week 14? Apparently, whatever it takes to keep Peterman on the bench is what Chicago will do.

The Bears started Siemian — with a season-ending injury — over him last week. Now, they are expected to start their franchise quarterback — who is dealing with a serious shoulder injury — over him this week.

Poor Peterman...